Progress is an amazing thing. In 50 years' time, people will look back at the 360 and PS3 like we would look at a gramophone today. No question.

But on a smaller timescale, we can't believe how much the world of gaming has progressed over the last few years alone. To think this shockingly archaic tech used to impress us. It's not going to be pretty…

The internet ran up our phone bill
Remember when the internet was something you couldn't use while your sister was on the phone? When you had to keep putting 10p coins in a jam jar just so that you could play Phantasy Star Online without your parents nagging you? So do we - just look at this beauty:

It's a Dreamcast modem. Yup, a 56k modem to be precise. This model will likely look prehistoric to US readers, but spare a thought for your UK brothers – our Dreamcasts came with 33.6kbps modems. It was horrible.

But at the time, it was amazing. Seeing the internet load – incredibly slowly – on our TVs was a miracle. And then there was that wonderful day we came home from college to find Chu Chu Rocket sitting on our doormat.